1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spindle motor, a disk drive apparatus using the spindle motor, and a method of manufacturing the spindle motor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hard disk apparatuses and optical disk apparatuses are typically provided with a spindle motor arranged to rotate a disk about a central axis. The spindle motor includes a stationary portion, which is fixed to a housing of the apparatus, and a rotating portion, which is arranged to rotate with the disk mounted thereon. The spindle motor is arranged to produce torque in a rotation direction centered on the central axis, due to magnetic flux generated between the stationary portion and the rotating portion. In this manner, the rotating portion and the disk mounted on the rotating portion are rotated relative to the stationary portion.
The stationary portion and the rotating portion of the spindle motor are connected to each other via a bearing such that they are rotatable relative to each other. The bearing includes a bearing member on a stationary portion side (e.g., a bearing sleeve) and a bearing member on a rotating portion side (e.g., a shaft). The bearing member on the stationary portion side is, for example, inserted inside a tubular sleeve support member provided in a base frame of the stationary portion, and fixed to the sleeve support member via an adhesive.
A related-art spindle motor including a bearing as described above is disclosed, for example, in JP-A 2005-114106.
Regarding the related-art spindle motor, in a process of assembling the spindle motor, the adhesive is first applied to an inner circumferential surface of the sleeve support member in the base frame, and thereafter the bearing sleeve is inserted inside an inner circumference of the sleeve support member. Then, the adhesive is heated and cured, so that the sleeve support member and the bearing sleeve are fixed to each other. Thereafter, in order to establish electrical connection between the sleeve support member and the bearing sleeve, an electrically conductive adhesive is applied to be in electrical contact with the sleeve support member and the bearing sleeve, and cured. In the above-described method, however, the different types of adhesives are applied and cured in two separate steps, and therefore, separate pieces of equipment need be prepared for the two steps, and the assembling of the spindle motor takes much time.